LOST PALACES
Level by Jeanette
Rodda
Walkthrough by Phil
Lambeth
Many thanks to the
author for pointing out some bonehead mistakes in the walkthrough that was
originally posted here, and for providing the location of all secrets.
Lara arrives standing
on a little platform surrounded by water, facing a black beetle imbedded in the
wall that's inaccessible for the moment. Turn left and pick up the shotgun.
Although there don't appear to be any pickups or switches in the water, you
should feel free to jump in and explore a bit. You'll find two closed face
doors, one in the NW corner and the other in the SW corner. Pull back up onto
the platform and climb up the ladder. Stop when Lara's hips reach the level of
the ledge that you can see out of the corner of your eye on either side, then
take a back flip to land safely on the ledge.
Ignore for now the
sleeping skeleton lying near the S wall, and go the other way and shoot the box
in the NE corner. Pick up the shotgun ammo, reverse roll and go up the
nearby stairs to your right. Make a hairpin turn to the right at the landing and
note the pit that's dead ahead as you make the second turn. Jump over the pit,
grab the far edge and pull up. Run forward to the pedestal and pick up the Pharos
Knot. A cut scene shows the face door opening in the NW corner of the pool
below, and at the same time you hear evidence that an enemy has been awakened.
Reverse roll, draw your shotgun, and wait for the skeleton to come to
you. When it does so, blast it into the pit, where it simply disappears.
Retrace your steps
down the stairs to the lower room, jump/grab to the ladder and climb down to
the platform. Jump into the water and swim to the alcove in the NW corner that
was earlier barred by the face door. Go inside and pick up the crowbar,
then pull back onto the platform. Take a standing jump to any portion of the
ledge that encloses the pool, and note the closed face door up on the wall in
the NW corner. You'll find a box in the opposite SE corner that you can shoot
for some more shotgun ammo. Now go the east wall and use the crowbar to
pry off the black beetle and open the submerged face door in the SW
corner.
Before leaving this
area, jump back to the central platform and walk around either side of the
ladder column. Take a running jump to the darkened flat area in front of the
false double doors in the west wall. Turn to your left and jump up into the gap
where part of a column has crumbled away. Turn to the wall and jump up to grab
the jump switch, opening that face door you saw earlier in the NW corner. Make
your way over there and pull into the opening for SECRET #1. Step
forward and pick up the Revolver and some shotgun ammo.
Now go back, jump down
into the water, swim through the new opening in the SW corner and follow the
tunnel along its twists and turns until you reach an air hole. Pull up into a
small enclosure and use the adjacent block to pull up to a still higher level.
Jump up and grab the edge, and pull up into a hallway adorned with pillars. At
the nearby east end you'll see some closed double doors. Run down the hallway
in the other direction and the companion double doors there will open at your
approach. Ready your shotgun and walk slowly up the stairs until you awaken
another skeleton. Lure it to the opening at the other end of the hall
and blow it over the edge with a well-placed shotgun blast. Go back and walk up
the stairs, and the closed double doors at the top will also open upon your
approach. However, before going through shoot the vase in the left corner (the
one in the right corner is empty) to replenish your shotgun ammo.
In the next room
you'll find two closed face doors at the other end (that refuse to open as you
approach them), four shootable boxes (two on each side) and a pull chain on
your left. Shooting the near right box gets you some uzi ammo, the far
left box some flares. Pull the chain once and the face doors open. Step
up to the ledge, and a flyby shows an immense room below with a fountain in the
middle and an exit door requiring two Pharos devices (of which you already have
one).
The first order of
business is getting down to floor level without killing yourself. The quickest
way to do this is simply to turn around in place following the flyby, hop back
and when you clear the edge, hit the action key to land safely on the ledge
below. Then, making sure Lara is at full health, safety drop to the floor. This
will cost you a considerable amount of health, which you may not wish to spare.
To get across the way the author intended, and the way that costs you no
health, turn right and walk to the north end of the ledge. Facing west and
angled slightly to the right, take a standing jump and grab to the ceiling, and
monkey swing your way across in a meandering path that winds roughly to the
right and back to the left before straightening out at the end. Drop down to an
area of safety that's still high above the floor level of this immense room.
Right in front of you in the corner of an alcove is the Hathor Effigy.
Pick it up and make your way along the ramparts toward the south wall. Climb up
on the last block, facing the wall, and jump up to grab the climbable surface.
Shimmy to the left and climb all the way down to floor level.
As you explore this
vast area, you'll soon discover that a lot of activity is required here. Run
across the room, past the fountain, to the closed double doors in the east
wall. Working your way counterclockwise around the room, you go up the huge
steps to see close-up the door that you'll open later with the Pharos devices,
and suddenly you're confronted from behind by two harpies. Deal with
them while avoiding their deadly bolts, then continue around until you come to
a huge closed door in the west wall. To the right of it in an alcove is a
receptacle for a star device you don't yet have.
Continuing toward the
south, you alert two more harpies that require your undivided attention.
When things are once again quiet, go up the steps toward the closed door in the
south wall and note the portal device immediately to its left. Having completed
your circuit around this room, jump into the water and swim through the opening
in the south wall. Make a horseshoe turn to the left and pick up the ornate
handle in the far corner.
Now pull up out of the
fountain and go up the semi-circular steps to the SE. Continue forward to the
pole device on the left side of the closed door, combine the ornate handle and
the Hathor Effigy to form the portal guardian, and use it on the pole
device to open the nearby door.
Go inside, and the
door closes rudely behind you. Continue forward along the walkway into the next
room. At this point you can go either upstairs or downstairs. If you go
upstairs, you find an upper balcony area with closed doors on either side and
an open door straight ahead to the south. Entering the room to the south, you
look to your right and see a pyramid up a ramp with receptacles for four black
beetles. Since you have only one at this point, you know you've entered this
room prematurely (as a cursory search through the other portions of this room
reveals no pickups).
Going back downstairs,
you continue down the next flight to the south and crawl under a dart gauntlet
(or jump, if you feel adventurous) until you reach the far edge overlooking a
deep pit. Take a running jump and grab the rope dangling down ahead, then take
a big swing and jump off to land safely on the other side. To your left are two
pairs of closed face doors, as well as on your right. Ahead is a structure with
a switch on each of its four walls, all being guarded by flame blowers. Your
immediate task is to shut off those flames. Go the south wall and climb up into
the alcove of your choice. Atop the adjacent blocks you'll find four wall
switches that are free of flames. While you're pondering what to do next, you
can turn to your left, make your way to the east end and hop up to the ledge
that skirts the wall, and follow until you reach the revolver ammo.
There's a method to
the madness that follows. Jump back down to the ground level and notice that
above each pair of closed face doors is a row of symbols, displaying either the
head of a jackal or the head of an owl. (Attention to detail is important in
this level.) For example, when you leap off the rope and land on the far ledge,
you can turn to your left and see that the row of symbols over the face doors
to the east, reading from left to right, is jackal-jackal-jackal-owl. Just
remember that jackal means up and owl means down, and everything else should
make sense.
Make your way back to
the wall switches along the south wall. Looking from left to right, pulling the
first and third switches extinguishes the flame guarding the switch in the east
side of the central structure. Go down and throw that switch, and you'll find
that the door behind you and to the left is now open. Reverse roll and go
inside. Slide down the left side, and when you come to rest on the block take a
standing jump forward and keep the jump key depressed, using the right arrow
key, to make Lara jump back and forth across the water and bring her gradually
to the other side. You'll need to let Lara slide a little before jumping, near
the end, so that she comes to rest atop the safe block. Then turn to face SE
and take a running jump to the opposite ledge. Follow the ledge around until a
flyby shows you the location of the second black beetle off to the right and
below you.
Take a standing jump
forward. You'll slide down to a safe area. Take another standing jump forward
(to the south) to another and larger safe area. Walk forward and take a final
running jump forward to a safe area against the south wall. Turn to your right
and step up to the edge of the ramp. Allow Lara to slide down, and jump forward
to grab the edge of the block ahead. (An alternative, and more reliable way to
do this is to let Lara slide down the slope backward and grab the edge. Pull
up, take a back flip with a roll and grab the edge of the facing block.) Pull
up and run forward to the crawl space. Pull up and crawl through the tunnel,
then turn around and drop down the other side.
Climb up the ladder
past the crawl space and back flip when you reach the obvious juncture. Turn
around and walk out to the end of the ledge. Take an angled running jump to the
next ledge. Angle Lara to the left and take a long jump down to the next ledge.
Turn right and climb up the ladder. As you pull up a bat attacks, so
draw weapons and eliminate it. Then turn to your left and pull up into the
crawl space. Follow around in a horseshoe motion to the right until you're
facing a wall mural. Turn around and lower Lara over the edge, but don't
release yet. Instead, shimmy to the right, around several corners, until Lara
can go no further. Now release and immediately hit action again to grab the
lower crack in the wall. Shimmy to the left until you reach the wall, then
release, slide down and grab the edge. Pull up and take a rolling back flip to
grab the edge of the facing ledge. Pull up and pry the second black beetle
off the wall.
Before leaving this
area, note the opening in the corner to the left of the beetle receptacle.
Climb up the ladder, pull up into the opening and run to the end of the short
corridor to claim the Hand of Sirius from the pedestal.
Now you need to get
back to the place where you began this side venture. Either (1) use the nearby
crawl space for a screaming drop back down to the water, or (2) climb back down
the ladder, walk out to the edge of the ledge you're on and look to your right.
Take a running jump down to the flat pillar that's jutting out of the water.
You'll spook another bat when you land, so kill it before proceeding.
Turn so you're facing squarely east and take a running jump and grab to the
other side. Pull up into a safe area and turn to your right. (If you happen to
miss and fall into the water, the author was kind enough to provide a place
where you can pull out near the NE corner. From there, you just climb up onto
the adjacent block, angle slightly to your right and jump/grab to the other
side. Shimmy a short distance to the right and pull up onto the safe area. But
first, swim over to the NW corner and find the uzi ammo in an alcove and
some flares at the end of a nearby tunnel.)
Take a standing jump
to the safe area up and to your right. Then turn right to face south and take
another standing jump to the next safe area, just as you did earlier. Take a
running jump forward to the next safe area against the south wall, then turn
left so that Lara is facing up the slope. Take a standing jump forward to your
left for the next safe area, then to your right for the next one, and finally another
to your left for the next one at the east wall. Then turn to your left and take
a standing jump slightly down to your left, another one up to your right,
another one down to your left, and a final one up to your right. Pull up onto
the ledge and wind your way back along the ledge high above the water. You
don't need to make any fancy moves this time to get to the other side, as the
author has again graciously provided a place where you can pull up at the NW
end of the canal. So simply drop down into the water, swim over and pull up
onto the ledge. Then pull up onto the block to your left and take a standing
jump up the slope to return to the room with the flaming switches.
Raise the first switch
you lowered earlier, and lower the second one. This extinguishes the flames
guarding the switch directly behind you, the one in the south face of the
central structure. Go over and throw that switch, then run into the SW anteroom
and find that the doors there are now open. Go down the steps and allow Lara to
slide down the wide ramp. Go around to the right and you'll emerge into a new
area to the accompaniment of heroic music. You'll see a large pool peppered
with an assortment of decorated pillars. If you feel the scene is somewhat
reminiscent of the infamous flaming pillars sequence from Palace Midas (of Tomb
Raider I vintage), you'll soon find out that the resemblance is more than
superficial.
The primary difference
here is that some (indeed, most) of the flat-topped pillars burst into flames
when Lara either jumps or pulls up onto them, but others don't. Which ones do
and which ones don't seems at first blush to be largely a matter of trial and
error (which is one of the reasons we have walkthroughs in the first place),
but blush again. Activate your binoculars and look across the pool, and you'll
see emblazoned on the west wall a row of the now-familiar jackal-owl faces.
Zoom in with the crouch key and hit the action key for some extra light, and
from left to right you'll see the following pattern: jackal-jackal-owl-owl-jackal-owl-owl-jackal.
Look for the corresponding designs on the top faces of the pillars ahead, to
which Lara must jump. (Discard the severely sloped surfaces, which don't count
in this equation.) Now, let's put all of this into operation. And remember
that, if at any time during this exercise Lara should fall into the water, any
pillars she lit unintentionally will be reset. And yes, there's also a place
here where Lara can pull out of the water and try again.
There are three
pillars Lara can jump to from the beginning ledge. All faces are deadly except
the left side of the dual pillar at Lara's far left. Jump there, then take a
standing jump ahead to the lower pillar that slopes down to the left. Then turn
to your right, facing north, and take a standing jump and grab to the next
pillar. Pull up and take a running jump and grab to the pillar against the
north wall. Pull up and turn to your left. The adjacent, lower pillar is
deadly, so take a running jump over it and grab the edge of the next pillar
hugging the north wall. Pull up and turn to your left, facing south. Take a
running jump and grab to the pillar with the face sloping down toward you, and
pull up. Step forward and angle Lara slightly to the left, so that when she
launches a running jump toward the sloped pillar ahead she'll slide backward
upon landing. Do so, grab the edge, pull up and take a rolling back flip to
grab the edge of the flat pillar to the west. Pull up and take a running jump
and grab to the west ledge. Pull up and ready your shotgun, for a skeleton
is guarding this area. After you've blasted it off the edge into the water, go
to the south wall and claim the third black beetle.
Now jump into the
water and swim along the north wall until you reach a submerged owl tile. Locate
and swim down into the alcove behind it for SECRET #2 and pick up the uzi
along with some uzi ammo. Then continue across the pool to the NE corner
where you can pull up to the east ledge. But how are you going to get back up
that wide ramp you slid down earlier? Not to worry; upon your return you
discover that the ramp has been magically transformed into steps, so climb them
and return to the room with the flaming switches.
Now go to the switches
near the blocks in the south wall and make sure that the first and fourth are
in the down position. (The two in the middle must be in the up position.) This
extinguishes the flames guarding the switch in the west wall of the central
structure. Go over and throw it, then reverse roll to see that the doors directly
behind you are now open. Go inside to find a canal filled with boiling oil,
with no fireproof gondolas handy. So Lara will need to make her way along by
using the ladders in this area.
Take a running jump
over the boiling oil and grab the ladder surface beyond. Shimmy to your right
until you reach the next to last section of ladder, then take a rolling back
flip and grab the ladder section behind you. Shimmy to your left, around two
corners, and when you reach the last section of ladder take another rolling
back flip and grab the ladder behind you. Climb up or drop down to the crack,
as the case may be, and shimmy to the right until you reach a little alcove
where you can pull up. (If Lara happens to get "set" when she reaches
the crack, she won't shimmy past the ladder. If that should happen, just
release and immediately grab again, and start your shimmying motion before Lara
has a chance to get her feet set in place.)
Pull up into the
alcove, turn around and take a running jump and grab to the facing ladder.
Start climbing, and resist the temptation to find something to do to your left
early on. Instead, climb all the way to the top, then climb back down three
rungs. Then take a rolling back flip and grab the crack in the wall. Shimmy to
your right over the sizzling flames below until you finally reach a mossy ledge
where you can drop down. Turn around, and the fourth black beetle is
staring you in the face. Take it with your trusty crowbar, but watch out for
the horde of real beetles that come pouring out of the hole. Slide
quickly down to the floor below (it's safe now) and head south toward the
ladder you used very recently. Use the sloped surface to your right to bounce
off and grab the ladder face, then climb down the left section until Lara sees the
green strand of ivy on the wall to her left. With her hands slightly above the
green area, take a back flip into the alcove.
Drop back, grab the
crack and shimmy to your left until you reach the ladder. This time, it's fine
to let Lara get set. When she does so, take a rolling back flip to grab the
facing ladder, then shimmy around until you reach the last section of ladder.
From here, take another rolling back flip to grab the large area of ladder that
covers the entire wall. Don't be too eager to back flip to safety, however, as
you're liable to bump into the wall and drop into the boiling oil. Shimmy to
the left at least two sections of ladder before making that final back flip.
Return to the room
with the flaming switches and make sure all the switches along the south wall
are up except the fourth one. This extinguishes the flame guarding the fourth
and final switch, the one on the north side of the central structure. Go over
there and throw it, and you'll see that the doors to your left are now open.
Go on inside and jump
into the pool. You'll see a closed face door in the NW corner of the first pool
level. Continue down through the central hole and through the partially open
grate, and you'll find yourself in a hellacious underwater maze. You should
probably do the following tasks one at a time and go back for air after each
one, or you'll risk drowning.
Upon arrival, swim
north past the pillars on either side and turn right near the end. You'll see
an opening where you can swim through to another area. Do so and turn right,
then another zig to the right to find some shotgun ammo in the SW
alcove. From the alcove, swim out and take the first right so you're headed
east. Swim past two pillars and turn right. (If you swim all the way to the
end, then take a left, you'll find some uzi ammo in a grated alcove to
your right.) In the next room turn left and open the door by using the action
key. Swim through and surface for air.
Pull up onto the ledge
and run up the short stairs, When you reach the top, face north and take a
standing jump and grab to the next higher ledge. Pull up and turn left. Jump
across to the next ledge and turn left. As you do so you'll see another beetle
embedded in the wall in the far corner of this room. Take a running jump and grab
to the ledge in the SW corner, and when you pull up and make your way over to
the left, draw weapons and deal with the bat that you've alerted. Face
east and take a running jump over to an intermediate ledge, then take a
standing jump to the ledge in front of the beetle. Use your crowbar to pry off
the fifth black beetle, whereupon a flyby shows the face door opening in
the upper level of the pool, while at the same time you hear a draining sound.
Drop back down into
the water from here and swim back up the open section of grate to return to the
pool. You'll find that it has been partially drained, so that Lara must wade to
the open face door in the NW corner. You'll also find that two grates bar
Lara's further progress here, so what's the point of the open door? The answer
must lie elsewhere, so pull up out of the pool and return to the room with the
flaming switches. You'll find that in your absence the pit to the north has
been filled with water, so that you can get back to the other side. A quick search
of the pool reveals nothing except for those two closed grates that look as if
they're laughing at you.
Pull up on the other
side, negotiate the dart gauntlet once more, run up two flights of stairs, go
through the open door, turn right and go up the ramp toward the pyramid. Place
your four beetles (one seems to have disappeared from your inventory and is now
identified as a broken beetle) in their receptacles and watch as the
pyramid disassembles itself. Step inside and pick up the Sun Goddess from
the pedestal that's emitting dazzling light.
When you exit this
room, you'll find that a demigod is now stationed on the landing to your
right. It will take several blasts from your shotgun to subdue him, but you
should have ammo to spare. Go into the east doorway he was guarding, and you'll
find a jump switch on the wall. When you activate it, the west door across the
way opens, releasing another demigod. By the time you deal with him,
your shotgun ammo is probably running low again.
Run over to the west
doorway and enter. Another jump switch. When you activate it nothing seems to
happen, so you need to start looking around. At least no more demigods are
lurking about. Go down one flight of stairs and through the north doorway to
return to the main room with the fountain. Run over to the alcove to the right
of the huge door in the west wall and place the Hand of Sirius in its
receptacle. The door is now open, so go on through.
Walk down the two
steps and stop near the end. Jump up to grab the ceiling, then immediately
release and draw weapons to kill the bat that was waiting for you to get
into a vulnerable position. Jump back up to grab the ceiling, and start monkey
swinging your way around to the right while triggering a whole host of spike
traps. When you get around the pillar to the other side, you can drop down and
note the closed face door. That's your exit for later. Continue your monkey
swing toward the south, and your progress appears to be blocked by a ceiling
ornament. However, go to the left of it, face the wall squarely, then drop and
immediately grab the crack in the wall. Shimmy around to your right until you
reach a safe ledge where you can drop down. Draw weapons and shoot the alerted bat.
Turn to the south and
note another closed face door in the distance. You can't monkey swing on this
side, so take a running jump and grab to the pillar ahead. Then take an angled
running jump across the gap to the next pillar, and finally a running jump and
grab to the ledge in front of the face door. Release and then immediately grab
the edge of the fiendishly hidden crawl space below, then pull your way inside.
Follow the corridor until you can stand, then look around before you pull out
into this new area and note two more closed face doors. Pull out to your right
and draw weapons to kill yet another bat. Go no further, or you'll
trigger the spike trap in front of the face door.
Jump over the spike
pit and use your crowbar to open the face door. Go inside, and the brief flyby
shows you another incredibly deep and dangerous room. There's a ladder hidden
in the darkness to your right. Jump to it, climb down and pick up the Hand
of Orion. That's the easy part. Climb back up the ladder and back flip to
the ledge.
From the right side of
the ledge, take a standing jump forward to the next ledge. Then take a running
jump and grab the edge of the sloped pillar ahead. Pull up, allow Lara to slide
partially down the other side and jump off toward another sloping surface.
Allow Lara to slide even further down the second slope before jumping off and
grabbing the ladder. Shimmy left around two corners to the other side of the
ladder. You'll have lost camera control by this time, so climb up; and when the
top of Lara's head reaches the decorated portion of the wall to her left (from
the angle of the camera), back flip off the ladder to the platform in the NW
corner of this room. Open the face door with your crowbar and enter.
In this dungeon-like
area you'll find receptacles for three star devices (for which you only have
one right now) and a closed face door. This time the crowbar doesn't work, so
go back out to the platform and drop back to hang from the east side. Lara's
peripheral vision reveals another star device lying out in the open on the
floor far below. So pull up and run off the east edge of the platform to the
sloped surface below, and Lara will slide down to a flat ledge. Hop down to the
right and into the shallow hole to pick up the second Hand of Orion. Go
back to the flat ledge and jump to the ladder. Climb back up and back flip to
the platform as you did before.
Face toward the south,
jump up and grab the ceiling. Monkey swing across toward the darkness on the
other side, but keep to your left. When you reach the end, drop and immediately
grab the edge of another fiendishly hidden crawl space. Pull into the crawl
space and lower Lara down the other side. Locate the alcove and pull into it to
pick up the Hand of Sirius.
From the edge of the
alcove, take an angled standing jump and grab to the edge of the crawl space.
Again go through and lower Lara down the other side, but this time don't
release right away. Shimmy to the left instead, until Lara is over a sloped
platform, then release and immediately jump over to a flat corner block,
triggering a flyby that shows a materializing skeleton back on the
platform you just vacated.) Face in that direction (north) and take a running
jump to the sloped platform ahead. Have the jump key depressed so Lara doesn't
slide down this slope, but jumps off immediately. However, she does need to
slide down the second slope to enable her to jump forward and grab the edge of
the third sloped platform. Pull up and allow Lara to slide safely down the
other side. Using the ladder, make your way back to the platform as you've done
twice already, and be prepared to deal with the skeleton upon your arrival.
Go into the
dungeon-like room and place the three star artifacts in their receptacles. When
you place the Hand of Sirius, the face door behind you opens and another skeleton
pops out. The easiest way to deal with it is to lure it back to the platform
and blast it over the edge as you did the first one.
When you return to the
open face door and enter, you find yourself at a juncture with the monkey swing
area to your right and a new area (which turns out to be a maze) to your left.
Before tackling the maze, let's detour for another secret. Turn to your right
and jump up to grab the ceiling. Monkey swing around the open area to the east
and trigger all those noisy spike traps below. However, one section is
triggered only once and becomes inert thereafter. After you've sufficiently
stirred the waters, drop back down to the ledge and turn so that you're lined
up with the open face door to the west and facing it squarely. From that
position hop back and grab the edge of the ledge. Drop down into the darkness
and run forward into SECRET #3. Pick up the shotgun ammo and the uzi
ammo, then reverse roll and run forward to the column. (Be careful of the
spikes that continue to spurt up on either side.) Jump up to grab the crack in
the column, then back flip to the ledge.
Turn around and go
through the open face door to enter the maze. Now, trying to describe a maze
verbally is more tiresome (to writer and reader alike) than it's worth, so
suffice it to say that if you wander around in here long enough, you'll come
across a small medi-pack and some shotgun ammo, but the big prize
is the second Pharos Knot that you'll find on a ledge in front of a
portrait of some Egyptian queen or goddess. (You start from the SE, and the
Pharos Knot is located generally in the NW corner of the maze.)
On the way out, when
you hear the tell-tale sounds of the spike traps from the monkey swing room,
you'll come to an open face door on your left. When you go inside, the door
closes behind you, but as you step forward to claim the shotgun ammo and
the uzi ammo, you hear the rewarding chimes of SECRET #4
(assuming that you've explored the maze sufficiently to step on all three of
the tiles inside the maze that bear the head of Pharoah, which act as pad
triggers for the secret door). Continue forward, jump up to use the crawl
space, and lower Lara down the other side. Now leave this area and use the
monkey swing ceiling in the next room to go around the central pillar and drop
down to the ledge on the east side. Run forward into the main room with the
fountain, go up the stairs to your left and place the two Pharos Knots in their
receptacles on either side of the north door.
The door is now open,
so go inside and meet the final challenges of this level. Slide down the steep
ramp, accompanied by another horde of beetles. Run down the hallway
between the pillars, and note the closed face door to your left at the end.
Turn right here and enter another immense room. Your goal here is to locate and
activate two jump switches to open the face door, while avoiding or killing two
skeletons assigned to guard this area. Turn to your right upon entering this
room and take a running jump and grab to the ledge. As you pull up, you can see
the first skeleton awakening ahead in the SW corner. If you look down to
your left, so can see the second one, still sleeping, so let's wake it up.
Safety drop from the
other side of the ledge you're on, losing a little health in the process, and
turn right while drawing your shotgun. Wait until the skeleton jumps
across the gap toward you, then blast it into oblivion. Walk out to the north
edge of the ledge, and take a running jump and grab to the large alcove in the
NW corner. Run forward and activate the first jump switch. Go the edge of the
alcove and turn around. Hop back and wait until Lara clears the edge before
hitting the action key. That way Lara will land on the level below and lose
less health than if she'd safety dropped to the floor.
Turn around and head toward the middle of the room. Locate the second
jump switch on one of the facing pillars and activate it. Turn to your left and
locate the stairs. Climb them to the top, then climb up onto the block you find
there. Turn and jump up to grab the platform above. Pull up, turn around and
take a running jump and grab to the south ledge. Pull up and deal with the
second skeleton if it happens to be nearby. Otherwise, take a running
jump across to the central platform, then continue with a running jump to the
ledge along the west wall.
Turn to the pillar to your left and jump up to grab the crack in its
face. Shimmy around to the left and pull up onto the block. Turn left and take
a running jump down to the ledge along the south wall. Turn left and run along
the south ledge, and take a running jump over the gap to the next ledge. Continue
forward and locate the stairs in the corner. Use them to reach an upper ledge
along the east wall. Turn left and take a running jump to the central platform.
Avoiding the hole, go over to the north edge and take a running jump and grab
to the ledge. Pull up, turn left and go to the open face door in the pillar
room.
Go through the opening, and the door will close behind you. Ahead is
another opening where you can catch a glimpse of a new day dawning. But as you
approach, hoping for a rewarding time in some fresh air, the exit trigger
brings this absorbing and entertaining level to an end.